Royals Review Sep 14, 2019
What is Zack Greinke’s legacy in Kansas City?
Photo by John Sleezer/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via It’s complicated, but it shouldn’t be This evening, Zack Greinke will take the mound at Kauffman Stadium for just the fifth time since he made his last start in a Royals uniform in 2011. The soon-to-be 36-year-old is now a member of the Houston Astros, who now boast the most dominant starting rotation in baseball. Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander are in a tug-of-war with each other and Lance Lynn, of all people, for the American League Cy Young Award. Cole and Verlander have combined for an 11.9 fWAR this season and are...
Call to the Pen Sep 14, 2019
Houston Astros: Lookout! Jose Altuve is raking again
After a slow and injury-riddled start to the 2019 MLB season, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is back and better than ever. The Houston Astros are poised to go deep into the postseason. Especially considering that their top two starters, Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, are one and two in the AL Cy Young […] Houston Astros: Lookout! Jose Altuve is raking again - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - A Major League Baseball Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
The Mercury News Sep 13, 2019
Athletics win thriller in Houston, take tough series 3-1 and top wild card spot for now
Matt Olson homered and the A's beat Justin Verlander in the win.
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 12, 2019
Game Thread 148. September 12th, 2019. 7:10 CDT, A’s vs Astros
Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports The A’s have won two-in-a-row. Verlander seeks revenge. Join the discussion. The Astros fell last night in a game they could have won but for some untimely hitting and one bullpen meltdown by Josh James. The Astros hope to finish the series on a winning note, and with Justin Verlander on the mound, you got to like the Astros’ chances. The A’s send Homer Bailey to face the Dreadnaught. Wish him luck...Not. A win for the Astros would reduce the magic number needed to clinch the AL West title down to six. Wish the Astros luck...Yes. With their win...
Climbing Tal's Hill Sep 11, 2019
Astros: The Miley Chronicles Vol. 13, How the Turntables
The Astros have to be concerned about Wade Miley who’s 13-5 on the year and a few weeks ago was ranked number three behind Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. After a stellar start to the year for Astros pitcher Wade Miley, something doesn’t seem right when you look at his last three starts. So what is […] Astros: The Miley Chronicles Vol. 13, How the Turntables - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 10, 2019
Buy three, get one free Astros Breaking T t- shirts
Stock up now for the playoffs! If you’ve been waiting for a deal. It’s here. Get three Breaking T, Houston Astros t-shirts, just in time for the playoffs, and get one free. That’s right, the Yordan shirt, the Cole Train shirt, the Verlander no-hitter shirt, the foursome no-hitter shirt, Brantley, Miley, Bregman, all the great Astros, commemorated and celebrated by Breaking T All the Breaking T shirta are a super-comfortable, poly/cotton blend, durable, yet ultra-soft. They come in all sizes and are officially sanctioned product of the MLBPA. Order yours HERE for just...
Climbing Tal's Hill Sep 8, 2019
The Astros win again on another Justin Verlander gem
On an evening when the roof was closed, Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros remained hot, winning their 12th game out of their last 15. It was the night of the Astros Justin Verlander bobblehead giveaway, the future Hall of Famer once again didn’t disappoint. He only gave up one run in seven innings, the only run coming […] The Astros win again on another Justin Verlander gem - Climbing Tals Hill - Climbing Tals Hill - A Houston Astros Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 7, 2019
Game Thread 143, Sept. 7th, 2019. Mariners vs Astros.
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports The Astros survived two against the Mariners with the back end of the rotation. Today's a Verlander day. Join the discussion. Go Stros.
Call to the Pen Sep 6, 2019
Houston Astros: Has Justin Verlander just been lucky?
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander has been phenomenal all season. However, these stats might show that a little bit of luck might be involved. In a previous piece, I compared Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander to Benjamin Button, a fictional character in a David Fincher movie who ages in reverse. Verlander’s most recent no-hitter prompted […] Houston Astros: Has Justin Verlander just been lucky? - Call to the Pen - Call to the Pen - A Major League Baseball Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 6, 2019
Game Recap: Houston’s epic, thirteen-inning comeback, retold via comparisons to players from Astros’ history
Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports What initially looked like a blowout slowly became a back-and-forth extra innings affair Tonight’s game was a ride. Wade Miley, who entered game 1 of this penultimate homestand with the third-best ERA in the AL behind Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, had an incredibly rough start. It looked like it was going to be a boring, uncompetitive game, so I decided to take mhatter’s advice and try something different to spice things up: a game recap where each inning was compared to a different player from Astros history. Pick one Astro from franchise...
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 5, 2019
Astros Crawfish Boil: September 5th, 2019
Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Start your morning with some of the best Astros links around Check out the rest of the Crawfish Boxes here Astros News Here are the biggest questions still facing the Astros as they roll into the postseason (The Athletic, $$$)A different big question is whether or not it’ll be Cole or Verlander for Cy Young (Sports Illustrated)Speaking of JV, he’s a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame at this point, but this one stat might disagree with that assessment (538 Sports)Alex Bregman has been pretty hot in recent games, and he’s just getting...
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 5, 2019
MLB Playoff Rotations, and Zack Grienke’s first month in Houston
Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports How has Greinke’s first month gone, and how does the Astros’ madeover rotation stand up against the rest of the league? With the calendar’s turn from August to September, we officially passed the one-month mark since the Trade Deadline, which of course means that we now have a month’s worth of games featuring the Astros’ new number three starter, Zack Greinke. So how have things worked out for Houston thus far since assembling their triple-ace rotation? Well, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole have looked just as dominant, and Wade Miley looks about...
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 4, 2019
Astros Crawfish Boil: September 4th, 2019
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Start your morning with some of the best Astros links around Check out the rest of the Crawfish Boxes here Astros News The Astros lost to the Brewers last night, but the biggest concern was Springer taking an awkward tumble into a wall (Astros.com)He’s already being evaluated and is considered day-to-day, but there hasn’t been a whole of additional info (MLB Trade Rumors)JV’s no-hitter had defense behind it but it was mostly a one-man performance for Verlander (FanGraphs)It was also the reason why Verlander took home AL Player of the Week honors...
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 4, 2019
Strikebreakers: Inside the Houston Astros’ League Low Strikeout Rate
Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via The Houston Astros’ best-in-the-majors strikeout rate is helping drive its powerful offense, but not in the way you might think. Getting Rid of the Letter K This past Labor Day, September 2nd, against the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick struck out to end the top of the tenth inning. With the strikeout, the Astros became the last team in the majors to reach 1,000 strikeouts on the season. The Houston Astros have the fewest batting strikeouts in baseball, and it is not by accident. As recently as 2015,...
The Crawfish Boxes Sep 3, 2019
Brewers get to Greinke. Split series with Astros in 4-2 win
George Springer escorted out of the stadium after head-on collison with wall on caught fly-ball. | Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports George Springer escorted by vehicle from field after head collision with the center field wall. A team is tempting fate trying to win game after game with three or fewer runs. The Astros won the last two with such small run production, but without someone named Verlander or Cole pitching, that gambit is not likely to work very often. Tonight, the four runs the Brewer accumulated against Zack Greinke in the third inning were all they would need. Ryan Braun drew...
